Moussons (Dec 2009)
Une histoire impériale connectée ? Hải Phòng : jalon d’une stratégie lyonnaise en Asie orientale (1881-1886)
Abstract
During the second half of the 19th century, the Silk businessmen of Lyon succeeded in wrestling the Asian silk markets (Bengal, China, and Japan) from the British. At first, under the July Monarchy and the Second Empire (from 1843 to 1870), they created a French route for Asian silks, a complex system linking mercantile houses, banks, warehouses, and rail and port infrastructures. In order to consolidate their lead – and within a context of extreme economic tension due to the recession at the end of the 19th century – the Silk merchants of Lyon set their sights on Tonkin, the perceived gateway to the supposedly fabulous markets of Yunnan and Sichuan. Charismatic leaders such as Aynard and Pila would convince these Liberals to invest their capitals within the closed frontiers of the French empire – an about face from the former international scope of their activities due to the 1860 Anglo-French free-trade treaty. From both an economic and political point of view, the Silk businessmen of Lyon considered Tonkin their trump card in an Indochinese scramble that pitted them against their British partners. As the 19th century drew to a close, the port of Hải Phòng encapsulated the entire imperial system of these Silk merchants, reducing it to its very essence. The port would become a vital milestone for these businessmen who were well versed in the subtleties of business practices specific to the China Sea.
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